Hello everybody! Sorry I haven't updated. We had testing week at my school (which is never fun) and I was buried under a bunch of review work from my teachers.

Oh, and PenFreak10, SoccerGirl4Life30, and AuroraStarfire, hannon le (thank you) for reviewing.

Also, I have decided that there will be OC/OC pairings in this story, but as to whom they will be and how many, you will just have to wait and see. But you can tell me who you think should be paired together.

Disclaimer: I only own my OC's. Oh, and a new character is joining us today!

Chapter 12: Mountains, Forests, and Plans

Hope slowly awoke, blinking in the flurries of snow. The avalanche had ceased, but the snowstorm had worsened. The skies were dark with clouds, and occasional lightning bolts flashed across the heavens. The young Ranger found herself half-buried in the snow, and not a living being was in sight.

Groaning, Hope pushed herself out of the snow, checking for injuries. She bore several cuts and abrasions from her fall into the ice, but was otherwise uninjured.

Hope drew her gray cloak around her, attempting to see through the thick blizzard surrounding her. "Aragorn!" she called out into the wind. No response.

With a sigh, Hope pulled her hood up and began trudging through the snow. Worry and fear welled inside of her, threatening to spill out into tears. She was lost, with no way of seeing where she was headed due to the blanket of white surrounding her. Her body ached with pain, and the cold was nearly unbearable. Hope racked her brain for any piece of knowledge or training that could help her, but Aragorn had never expected a situation like this to occur, and therefore he had never trained her for this.

Suddenly, Hope froze. Her hand flew to her sword hilt as she gazed warily around the area. The soft, unmistakable sound of hooves echoed faintly though the howling wind. She was not alone on the mountain.

In an instant, Hope whirled around, her blade crossing with another's. The stranger was also hooded, and quite a bit bigger than she. The two swung at each other again, but the swordsmen seemed to almost match each other's movements perfectly. The clashing of swords rang out on the mountainside as the two dueled fiercely. But Hope, weakened from her fall, slowly began to tire, and eventually she stumbled to the ground, her hood slipping off.

The stranger held his sword to Hope's neck, the cold blade tickling her skin. But then, much to Hope's surprise, the stranger lowered his blade. "Hope?" he asked incredulously.

Lighting ripped through the sky, illuminating the stranger's familiar gray eyes for just a moment. Hope scrambled to her feet. "Aragorn?"

A relieved smile broke out on Aragorn's face as the Ranger pulled Hope into an embrace. Hope could just make out the shapes of Alagos and Roheryn behind him.

"When Alagos returned without a rider, I grew worried," Aragorn stated.

"The avalanche collided into us. I fell off Alagos and into the snow," Hope informed him. "Thankfully, I'm not seriously injured."

Aragorn nodded, walking over to Roheryn. "Come, we must not stay in this blizzard for too long." The elder Ranger swung onto the chestnut stallion while Hope mounted Alagos with slightly less grace.

The two rode on through the storm, eventually nearing the base of the mountain where the blizzard was not as strong. A huge mass of dark green trees spread out before them.

Aragorn gazed out at the trees, whispering the name of the forest so quietly that Hope could barely discern it.

"Mirkwood."

~o*o*o*o~

Fern sat at a desk in the library, her bright green eyes roving over the Elvish texts. The room was immense, filled with dark wooden shelves teeming with old parchment scrolls and books. Colorful tapestries hung on the walls, illuminated by the soft sunlight filtering through the trees.

The young elleth sighed and gazed about the room. The library was an absolutely incredible place to her. In America, she had always loved reading, and that was no different here. Fern especially loved the elegant, flowing Elvish script transcribed in the volumes.

"Pardon me, Fern."

Fern turned around to see a brown-haired ellon standing in the doorway of the vast room. He was rather young for an elf, and he did not appear to be any older that Fern. "Yes, Castien?" Fern greeted.

"There is someone here who wishes to speak with you," Castien informed her. "A young Ranger by the name of Hope."

Fern raised her eyebrows, recognizing the name. "Oh yeah, I remember her. Is she with you right now?"

Castien nodded, stepping aside. Hope emerged from behind him, walking into the library. Upon seeing the young Ranger, Fern gasped.

"Hope, what in the world happened to you?"

Hope's dark hair was pulled into a messy braid resting on the back of her neck. The leather jerkin over her dark green tunic was stained with mud, and the gray cloak she wore was battered and worn. Her black pants and brown leather boots did not seem to have fared any better. A dark cloth bandage wrapped around the upper arm of the long, green leather coat she wore. Her face was marred with several minor cuts.

"Orc attack, avalanche, a whole bunch of snow..." Hope listed off. "Don't really want to talk about it." The Ranger sat down in front of Fern. "Look, I need your help. Gandalf wants us to find Gollum, and he wants us to do it fast. I don't remember where Aragorn found Gollum in the books, and so I was wondering if you knew."

"Well, I do remember where Aragorn found Gollum," Fern stated. "But I don't know if it would be a good idea to tell you."

"And why not?" Hope asked, slightly irritated.

"It could affect the future!" Fern retorted. "If I told you, the whole chain of events could get mixed up!"

"Fern, you're being paranoid," Hope chided. "Trust me, I already thought about that. This is the best way for us to aid them without changing too much."

"But-" Fern began, but she was cut off by a glare from Hope. "Oh, alright, fine, I'll tell you," she finally agreed, fishing out a map from beneath the piles of books.

"There," she announced, pointing to a small dark spot on the map. Hope read the label.

"The Dead Marshes?" she exclaimed.

"Yep," Fern replied. "That's where Gollum should be."

Hope nodded and began walking out of the library. "Hannon le, mellon nin."

Fern's eyes widened at the Ranger's use of Elvish. "You speak Sindarin?"

"A little," Hope answered, smiling slightly. "Hopefully, Aragorn will be able to teach me more." A brief moment of silence passed between the two. Hope turned back towards the door, adjusting the strap of her quiver. "Well, I guess I'm off then." And with that, Hope strode out of the room.

"Stay safe, mellon nin," Fern murmured.

~o*o*o*o~

A few moments after Hope had left, Castien strolled into the library. Fern looked up from the scroll she was reading at the sound of his approaching. "Ah, Castien!" Fern exclaimed, getting to her feet. Over the past couple of months, the elleth had come to know the ellon quite well. The two enjoyed each other's company very much.

"Fern, would you like to accompany me to the gardens?" Castien asked.

"Of course," Fern replied, rising from her seat behind the desk. Together, the two strolled into the gardens. Lush trees surrounded them, and despite it being in the middle of winter, many flowers were in bloom, sprinkling the green leaves with color.

"It is beautiful," Castien sighed, taking a seat on a bench.

"Indeed," Fern agreed, joining the ellon on the bench.

A few moments of silence passed between the two. Finally, Castien spoke. "I am quite glad that you returned to Mirkwood after your trip to Imladris," he stated. "Before you came, there were seldom any Elves my age to be with."

"Well, I'm glad I met you," Fern replied. Smiles broke out on both of their faces as they continued to talk. And for those few moments, Fern did not worry about what the future would bring for her and her fellow Elenmîr.

~o*o*o*o~

Ėowyn strode through the halls of Meduseld. Night had fallen, and the pale moonlight filtered in though the small windows. Sadly, her uncle's condition had worsened over the past few months, and no one could do anything-

Her thoughts were cut short as a familiar venom-laced voice rang out from the room nearby. "We must hurry. He is growing impatient with me."

"Yes, sir," a gruff voice replied. Ėowyn recognized that voice as the voice that belonged to the leader of Wormtongue's lackeys, who had about as much favor in the Golden Hall as Wormtongue did himself.

"But may I ask, sir, why does he want this girl?" the leader inquired.

"The young girl carries information that he wishes to obtain," Wormtongue informed him. "The orange crystal star necklace she wears also contains a power unknown to most men. He is becoming desperate. The ambush on one of the other Star-Children failed. We must take her, and quickly."

Ėowyn froze at the last statement as she realized the full extent of Wormtongue's plan. Without listening to anymore, the White Lady of Rohan hurried down the halls, formulating a plan to save her friend.

Uh-oh, Wormtongue has evil plans!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

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